Member-Owner Meeting, November 16, 2025

Please Join Us! Details for Our Virtual Annual Meeting & Board Election

• When: Sunday, November 16
• Time: 5:00-6:00 PM
• Where: On Zoom. Register here to receive a link to the zoom meeting.
• To Vote: Voting online with details below.

The Urban Greens board looks forward to seeing you on zoom for this year’s annual meeting! We will provide a look back at the past year, give updates on where we’re at, discuss what we have in store for the future, and make time for members to socialize with each other. Meeting details, including time, date, and how to join are included above.

If you have any questions you’d like the board to address, please email your questions to ugcouncil@urbangreens.com in advance, so we can provide as complete an answer as possible during the meeting. We will also be able to take questions in some format during the Q&A portion of the meeting, but it will be much easier to respond in detail to questions that are sent in advance, so we encourage you to send along any questions you may have now.

Member-owners, non-owners, and future owners are all welcome to attend!

See you then!

Voting Initiatives:

At the core of a cooperative organization’s democratic structure is the voting process, and the accountability to ownership that it brings. The Annual Member-Owner Meeting facilitates space for member-owners to exercise this right and responsibility. Through voting, owners help make important decisions that dictate the direction of the Co-op, and select candidates from among their fellow owners to represent them on the Co-op’s governing board.

This year, we will be voting to elect members to the 5 open board seats: the board has nominated 7 candidates for consideration by the owners, from which the 5 with the most votes will be elected.

• Andrew Cook
  
• Michael Geary
• Natalie McFarlane
• Mike Mowry
• Brian Sit
• Bruce Thompson
• Annajane (AJ) Yolken

You can find all candidate statements below

Voting Instructions:

Whether you are able to attend the meeting or not, please vote online in advance! This is critical to helping ensure that we have a quorum and can complete our election process.

Each owner may vote for up to 5 candidates. Members will receive an email the week of 11/3 with a direct link for voting. Each email is linked to the member-owner’s email to ensure secure voting. (One vote per member-ownership share.) Once you’ve received the email, just follow the instructions! If you have any questions about voting or can’t find your link, please email your questions to ugcouncil@urbangreens.com in advance.

Candidate Statements:

Andrew Cook (he/him)

Hi, I’m Andrew! I have lived in the Providence area for 14 years, mostly in Federal Hill but currently in Elmwood. For 10 years, I worked as the Community Growers Director at Southside Community Land Trust, overseeing a community garden network of over 22 properties and over 300 gardening families. I also ran a small organic market garden in East Providence, Sweetfern Farm, for 4 years. That involved turning a former lawn into a vegetable, herb, and fruit growing space, and selling to neighbors, farmers markets, and restaurants.

I’ve spent a lot of time in food growing and distribution, and helping others to grow or otherwise deepen their relationship to food. A lot of my work, in the food sector and in my past career in adult education, has been with immigrants and new Americans (I speak Spanish and French ok, forgot most of my Mandarin, and know a bit of Swahili). I always focus on accessibility and inclusivity that lead to actual meaningful participation by a range of community members. I’ve also learned that delivering tangible actions and improvements is an essential part of accessibility and inclusivity.

I’m excited to bring this to the UG Board, and I genuinely enjoy and find beauty in getting to know all the different people involved in a neighborhood institution and seeing all the different ways they interact with it and shape it. For fun, I enjoy rock climbing, exploring the woods for edible plants and fungi, and reading too much sci-fi.

-=-=-

Michael Geary (he/him)

Michael Geary lives in the Armory District of the West End, where he and his husband Graham have made their home for the past five years alongside their two rescue pups. He currently serves as a Director of Learning and Development at UNFI, the largest publicly traded wholesale distributor of health and specialty food in the United States and Canada.

With a background in Natural grocery, selling and in person facilitation, Michael brings both industry expertise and a strong foundation in leadership, negotiation, and data-driven decision making. Over the course of his career, he has built and led large teams of both individual contributors and people leaders, with a focus on fostering engagement and measurable outcomes.

Michael is deeply committed to strengthening food access in the community. Having grown up in a family that relied on food pantries and government aid (and proud of it), he believes deeply in the value of cooperative models that make nutritious food affordable and accessible. He aims to bring business acumen and a data-forward approach to sustaining and expanding these vital programs. When not working or volunteering, Michael is a devoted fantasy reader who loves nothing more than to spend quiet afternoons reading under the trees.

-=-=-

Natalie McFarlane (she/her)

I’ve lived in Providence since 1999 and witnessed the evolution of food options in underrepresented neighborhoods. My passion for food equity and sustainable agriculture led me to support Urban Greens early on, and I’ve seen its positive community impact. I appreciate the welcoming environment at the co-op for a diverse group of shoppers and its commitment to local ownership, which empowers the community and ensures that members feel valued. I experienced this when my suggestion for sodium-free canned beans was implemented.

With over 20 years in financial services, my experience in cash management, compliance, and research will prove valuable. My transition to Building Futures, a local non-profit, aligns my professional skills with my personal values of social impact. From Employer Relations Assistant to Apprenticeship Data & Research Manager, I have consistently demonstrated a detail-oriented, process-driven approach to support the organization’s mission.

As a person of color and an immigrant from a family of gardeners and farmers, I deeply appreciate food systems and sustainable practices. My experience inorganic gardening reinforces my commitment to advocating for healthier food options while recognizing the pressures on local farmers.

I am eager to contribute my skills and lived experiences to serve on the board of Urban Greens, as I believe my background and values align perfectly with the co-op’s mission to foster a more equitable and sustainable food system.

I live with my husband and finicky cat and we have raised two young adults who are trying to live their best lives.

-=-=-

Mike Mowry (he/him)

I’ve spent my career at the intersection of food, leadership, and community. For 16 years at Equal Exchange in West Bridgewater, MA — one of the country’s oldest and most successful worker-owned cooperatives — I worked in Quality Control and Leadership Development. During that time, I served as Worker-Owner Coordinator, facilitating the activities of nearly 150 worker-owners, and later as a member of the Board of Directors, where I chaired the Leadership & Training Committee and served as Vice Chair. I also served two terms on the Board of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association in Hope Valley, RI, including roles as President and Vice President.

Today, I am the Director for Member Success at Hope & Main, Rhode Island’s culinary incubator. I support more than 150 food entrepreneurs as they navigate business growth, market entry, and access to capital — helping to build a more just, sustainable, and resilient local food economy.

I am a certified Food Systems Consultant through the Food Finance Institute at the University of Wisconsin and a graduate of the Food Solutions New England Network Leadership Institute at the University of Vermont. I also hold a Certificate in Financial Accounting from Babson College.

Beyond my professional work, I advise business students at Salve Regina University and have served as an expert panelist for the Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety. I am passionate about cooperatives and increasing consumer ownership in the food system, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors as Urban Greens navigates leadership transitions and growth, contributing my experience to support the co-op’s mission and community impact.

-=-=-

Brian Sit (he/him)

Brian Sit was born in Rhode Island as the 3rd generation of a family of chefs and restaurant owners now supplying fresh local noodles and pasta to restaurants across the state. He has managed multiple businesses in the RI hospitality industry (Hong Kong Restaurant, Deville’s, The Village, Lee’s, Lotus Foods) in addition to his professional career improving efficiency and sustainability as a manufacturing and process automation engineer with his Chemical Engineering degree from URI.

People call his mom the coupon queen and he’s taken on her mindset memorized from an ancient Chinese poem:

“Toiling under the noon sun, Sweat drips onto the fields.

Who understands that on every plate, each grain is delivered through suffering.”

We must respect each hard-earned dollar and the effort of each farmer to feed us.

As an early Co-Op member even before Urban Greens had a physical space, Brian has always supported community-conscious organizations that could provide accessible and affordable nutrition and necessities. He believes that Urban Greens can escape the standard Co-Op stereotype by embracing the local food scene and cooperating with local suppliers to offer a dynamic selection and more than just a smaller copy of Whole Foods. We can become a diverse destination that feeds the whole income spectrum.

When he’s not working, you may be able to see him from the East Bay bike path tending his garden or adventure shopping and wandering looking for deals at his meditative space – grocery stores where he’ll regularly visit 3 in a day as relaxation.

-=-=-

Bruce Thompson (he/him)

Since 2022, I have been honored to call Olneyville home, where I live with my wife, Alexis, and our two dogs, Otis and Oreo. This community has shaped me, and in return, I have dedicated my career to serving and uplifting its families.

I currently serve as the Food Access Coordinator for the Sankofa Initiative at the West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation. In this role, I work to advance food justice by ensuring equitable access to healthy, sustainable food. I teach families from diverse backgrounds how to grow food both indoors and outdoors, grounded in the belief that food is medicine. Our community gardens and farm are not only spaces for nourishment but also for connection, learning, and empowerment.

My commitment to service began as an AmeriCorps member and continued as an Ambassador for the Epilepsy Foundation New England, where I became a certified Community Health Worker. These experiences deepened my dedication to equity, health, and building bridges between people and resources.

I believe Urban Greens plays a vital role in creating healthier communities, and I am eager to contribute my skills and passion as a board member. My focus will be on strengthening community engagement and building connections between Urban Greens and the neighborhoods it serves. Together, we can foster a cooperative that not only provides access to nutritious food but also inspires pride, resilience, and unity.

-=-=-

Annajane Yolken (she/her)

Annajane (AJ) has lived in Providence’s West End and Federal Hill neighborhoods for more than a decade and has been active in efforts around racial equity, drug policy reform, and other community causes. She was an early volunteer with Urban Greens from 2012 to 2014 – before the co-op had a storefront – supporting the hiring of its first staff member, member outreach, and early governance efforts. Seeing the co-op grow from an idea into a physical store has been exciting for her.

AJ currently serves as Director of Strategy at Project Weber/RENEW, a harm reduction nonprofit. In this role, she works on a diverse range of topics including grant writing, evaluation, advocacy, community relations, and organizational management, and helped lead the organization’s work on new overdose prevention initiatives.

She has held leadership roles across nonprofit and advocacy settings, developing experience in project management, finances, fundraising, and the creation of a good spreadsheet. AJ hopes to contribute these skills to the Urban Greens Board, particularly around accessibility, equity, and financial sustainability.

AJ enjoys jogging around Dexter Park, and can often be found door-knocking for local causes and candidates she believes in.

-=-=-

Recap:

When: Sunday, November 16
Time: 5:00-6:00 PM

Where: On Zoom. Register here to receive a link to the zoom meeting.

If you have any questions about voting or can’t find your link, please email your questions to ugcouncil@urbangreens.com in advance.